NEWS
Drink up
With the ground barely cold from Edinburgh’s festival season, the next excuse to enjoy a few tipples out on the town is just over the horizon. Katharine Gemmell gets
the lowdown on Edinburgh Cocktail Week
COMING UP
EDINBURGH COFFEE FESTIVAL A festival for lovers of all sorts of coffee, from your regular cups of Joe to your skinny-grande mocha-swirl-achino-with- extra-cream sorts, featuring workshops, tastings and demonstrations. Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, Sat 5 Oct.
THE SPREE Paisley’s music and arts festival, featuring international and Scottish artists alongside homegrown talent and a vibrant kids programme. Various venues, Paisley, Fri 11– Sat 19 Oct.
SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL A celebration of live storytelling and imagination uniting Scottish and international storytellers and musicians, with a special focus on Scotland and Canada this year. Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, Fri 18–Thu 31 Oct.
ROYAL NATIONAL MOD Scotland’s premier Gaelic festival, famous for celebrating our Gaelic linguistic and cultural heritage, heads to the city this year. Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 11–Sat 19 Oct.
PAISLEY HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL Paisley’s annual festival of the macabre with a costume parade, performance, scary fi lms, workshops, trick-or- treat booths, pumpkin carving and a dark circus theme. Town Centre, Paisley, Fri 25 & Sat 26 Oct.
ILLUMINIGHT WITH LIDL The spectacular illumination experience is back again after welcoming over 80,000 visitors in its fi rst two years. The country park at Dean Castle will be transformed into an intergalactic adventure for a space show with installations and AV effects. Dean Castle Country Park, Kilmarnock, Wed 23 Oct–Sun 17 Nov.
T he nights may be getting darker but never fear; Edinburgh Cocktail Week is just the thing to keep you warm this autumn. Returning in October, this annual celebration brings a week of aperitif-themed events to 70 of Edinburgh’s cocktail bars and beyond.
The event works by uniting cocktail bars around the city to collectively provide a special £4 signature cocktail for the whole week. Mixed drinks experts like The Refi nery, Harvey Nichols and Tigerlily will all be returning alongside some new additions, such as Cold Town House, The Raging Bull, Smoke & Mirrors and The Barologist, among others. Running alongside this is a programme of events and parties like bartender takeovers, educational masterclasses and tastings, parties and cocktail-making competitions. Organiser Gary Anderson explains: ‘Throughout the week we have a programme of events and experiences happening including Seedlip Yoga sessions, tours of the newly opened Holyrood Distillery, Cocktails Aboard Fingal, and a Classic Cocktails & Classic Movie Night at the boutique Scotsman Picturehouse.’ Following on from its success last year as the event’s new epicentre, the Cocktail Village, situated in Festival Square, will expand its size and experience for a brand new forest-themed addition. This enchanting extension, dubbed the Cocktail Forest, features a wigwam, fi re pit, forest fl oor and canopy to get festival-goers into a cosy autumn mood. It also promises pop-up bars, giant toadstools, a twinkling
14 THE LIST 1 Sep–31 Oct 2019
starry sky and mythical forest creatures so that it feels like you’re camping with your cocktails.
Alongside this, the village will again host 19 pop- up bars, masterclasses, live music and entertainment, with entry being free with an Edinburgh Cocktail wristband. Tipples will be provided by the likes of Edinburgh Gin with Brewhemia, Belvedere Vodka, Johnnie Walker, William Kerr’s Borders Gin, Poco Prosecco, Highland Park and many more on board. Another exciting add-on to the week are the Cocktail Domes on the rooftop garden of the Glasshouse Hotel – a second free site for wristband holders. It will provide stunning panoramic views across the city from transparent domes that fi t 8–10 people with Instagram-worthy, hygge-inducing fairy lights, blankets and sofas, plus drinks options from Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, Ketel One Vodka, Casamigos Tequila and Belsazar Vermouth.
Since beginning in 2017, the event has grown rapidly and is now the biggest of its kind outside London. Anderson comments: ‘We have continued to grow the festival and visitor experience by adding new and exciting features, pop-up spaces and unique experiences across the city. This approach, along with the support of amazing festival partners, has grown Edinburgh Cocktail Week into the biggest cocktail festival outside of London – something the team and I are very proud of.’
Edinburgh Cocktail Week, various venues, Mon 14–Sun 20 Oct, edinburghcocktailweek.co.uk